Weather Explainers

A 'Blue Norther' Is Headed Into the Plains Late This Week; Here’s What That Is

By Chris Dolce and Brian Donegan

January 15 2019 02:30 PM EDT

weather.com

00:41

When is the Coldest Time of Year?

Meteorologist Domenica Davis looks at the forecast for when we typically see the coldest weather in the Lower 48.

At a Glance

A "blue norther" cold front will plunge into the Plains late this week, rapidly ushering in an air mass from the Arctic.

Temperatures can drop 20 to 30 degrees in a manner of minutes during a blue norther event.

The term blue norther is most commonly used in the Texas Panhandle, but the phenomenon can occur anywhere in the Plains and even in the Midwest.

A historic blue norther plunged through the Plains and Midwest on Nov. 11, 1911.

Residents of the Plains states will need to bundle up late this week as a blast of bitterly cold air from the Arctic gets ushered in behind a so-called "blue norther" cold front.

The term blue norther is sometimes used by meteorologists to describe a fast-moving cold front that sends temperatures quickly into a nosedive across the Great Plains of the central United States.

This is what's expected to happen late this week into the weekend across much of the Plains. The graphic below shows the sharp contrast in temperature Saturday morning, with 20s expected from southern Kansas to the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and 50s and 60s in southern Texas.

Common characteristics of a blue norther are a dark blue or black sky, strong winds and temperatures that can drop 20 to 30 degrees in a manner of minutes.

This term is most commonly used in the Texas Panhandle, but blue northers occur in other portions of the Plains and also in the Midwest.

The National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas, noted that blue norther events often catch people off guard. Temperatures can drop as much as 40 to 60 degrees within hours during an extreme blue norther event, according to the NWS.

This type of cold front occurs every year, but an event just over 107 years ago was in a league of its own.

In November 1911, one of the most notorious blue northers in U.S. history sent temperatures plummeting more than 70 degrees in a matter of hours and also whipped up blizzard conditions immediately after a tornado outbreak in the Midwest.

The blue norther cold front sliced its way from the Plains states during the morning of Nov. 11, 1911, to near the Mississippi River by that evening. Behind the front was a bitterly cold arctic air mass that originated near the North Pole, which quickly wiped away warm, humid conditions in place from the southern Plains to the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

This animation shows the high temperatures on Nov. 11, 1911, compared to the lows just before midnight a few hours later that same day.

(Data: NWS-Louisville, Kentucky)

A Record High and a Record Low on the Same Day

At least two cities accomplished an incredible feat by setting both daily high- and low-temperature records on Nov. 11, 1911, that stand to this day.

Oklahoma City: A record-high temperature of 83 degrees was set during the afternoon. Just before midnight on Nov. 11, a record low of 17 degrees was observed. The front was also accompanied by a dust storm.

Springfield, Missouri: At 3:45 p.m. local time, the temperature was a record 80 degrees. It then fell 67 degrees in 10 hours to a record-setting low of 13 degrees just before midnight on Nov. 11. Winds gusted up to 74 mph in the city as the front swept through, causing damage to buildings, the NWS said.

The map shows the temperature difference from the highs observed on Nov. 11, 1911, to the lows the following morning on Nov. 12, 1911. For parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois, this temperature drop was 70 degrees or more.

(NWS-La Crosse, Wisconsin)

Farther east, St. Louis saw its temperature plunge an incredible 26 degrees in just 10 minutes. At 6:10 p.m., it was warm enough for a t-shirt, with a temperature of 74 degrees. By 6:20 p.m., it had dropped to a chilly 49 degrees. The blast of cold air was preceded by strong, damaging winds and hail, according to the NWS.

The drastic temperature plunge continued as the front pushed through the Ohio Valley the next day.

Louisville, Kentucky, recorded its high temperature of 74 degrees around midnight on Nov. 12, but by dawn, it was in the 20s. In Lexington, Kentucky, the morning began with a temperature of 70 degrees before slipping into the 20s through the day.

Tornadoes November 11, 1911

In the mild air ahead of the cold front, an outbreak of tornadoes struck portions of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.

Near the south-central Wisconsin town of Janesville, an F4 tornado caused major damage and killed nine people.

Only a few hours after the tornado struck, blizzard conditions developed, severely impacting recovery efforts. In addition to the snow and strong winds, temperatures plummeted into the single digits.

Overall, the outbreak spawned several tornadoes of F2 to F4 intensity and killed 13 people.

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